"Early History of Thurston County, Washington; Together with Biographies and
Reminiscences of those Identified with Pioneer Days." Compiled and Edited by
Mrs. George E. (Georgiana) Blankenship. Published in Olympia, Washington, 1914.
p. 325.
CAPTAIN SAMUEL WILLEY
In reviewing the list of men who have been most prominently identified with
the development of Thurston County business it was considered appropriate to
mention the men who organized what has for many years been known as the S.
Willey Navigation Company.
Although the Willeys', father and sons, were not the first men to venture
their fortunes in water craft plying between Olympia and down Sound points,
their steamers Multnomah and City of Aberdeen were so well known on Puget Sound
that they are actually a part of the history of Thurston County.
Captain Samuel Willey was one of the gold seekers in California as early as
1859, leaving his family in their home in Cherryfield, Maine, while he pursued
the search of the Golden Fleece. After having enjoyed a fair measure of success
from mining in Syskiyou County, Mr. Willey decided to return to the East again.
He remained with his family until 1867 when he came out West again, this time
settling in Mason County. The family were then sent for and the fortunes of the
Willeys became identified with this section of the country. He engaged in
lumbering during the first few years of his Washington residence, but when, in
1880, his son, Lafayette, P. L., and George, organized the S. Willey Navigation
Company the elder Willey removed to Olympia and built his comfortable home on
Eighth street, where he died in the year 1897.
The Willey family consisted of the father and mother three brothers and a
sister. Shortly after their arrival here the brothers took the contract for
carrying the mail between Olympia and Oakland, which was then the county seat of
Mason County. For two years the brothers carried the mail twenty-five miles in a
row boat and then over a country road for a further twelve miles, until finally
they felt justified in investing in a tiny steamer, the Hornet. This gave place
within a short time to the Susie, which in turn was replaced by the Willey. This
latter steamer was quite a good-sized craft and was put on the run between
Olympia and Shelton. In 1889 the Willeys purchased the Multnomah and a little
later the City of Aberdeen and put them on the run between this city and
Seattle, the elder brothers becoming Captains of the boats.
The sister of the Willey brothers, Lucretia, was an especially pretty and
charming young girl and was an undisputed belle of Mason County up to the time
of her marriage to Mr. Leighton and came to Olympia to make her home. She became
the mother of two children, Charles Leighton of Seattle and her daughter,
Bertha. Mrs. Leighton died at the home of the latter in Olympia in 1911.
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Submitted to the Washington Bios. Project in July 2007 by Diana Smith.
Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned
above.